Whether or not the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan has something to do with this exodus of foreign exchange reserves is hard to judge. While no one saw this decision coming, many investors were not too happy with the decision, to say the least. As a result, Chinese stocks were sold off in rapid succession, and there are still worries regarding the actual Chinese economy growth. By the look of things, the central bank of China is trying to buy back Chinese Yuan – at falling prices – by spending a portion of their foreign exchange reserves. Doing so could prove to be a double-edged blade, as it will lead to lower foreign reserves, which are usually kept around in the event of a major economic shock.

Diversifying Investment Portfolio With BitcoinBitcoinist_Foreign Exchange Reserves BitcoinIn this day and age, it is wise for investors to diversify their portfolio as much as possible. Storing wealth in the form of foreign currencies, precious metals, and stocks or bonds seem to be the most favorable solutions. However, Bitcoin presents an interesting opportunity as well, as it is not tied to controlled by any central bank or authority.http://bitcoinist.net/chinese-foreign-exchange-reserves-dwindling-bitcoin-alternative-way-store-wealth/

China's big cash pile is dwindling.On Monday, China's central bank reported $3.4 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, the lowest level since early 2013. November was one of the biggest drops ever. China views capital outflows as a problem. Over $500 billion has left China so far this year, according to U.S. Treasury data through August.China limits the amount of money an individual can move out of the country to $50,000 per year. But this fall, Beijing even clamped down on the amount of cash its citizens can withdraw from ATMs overseas, another attempt to stop money from leaving the country. http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/07/news/economy/china-foreign-exchange-reserves-shrinking/index.html

Blythe Masters’ startup seeks $35M financing roundFor Masters, the stage is a bit smaller than at her last gig — where, as chair of JPMorgan Chase’s global commodities business, she was thought of as a possible heir apparent to Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.But Masters was forced from the bank in May 2014 after 27 years — having started as an intern — after a government regulator fined JPM $410 million for allegedly rigging the California energy markets.Spanish bank Santander, where Masters is a non-executive chairman, is expected to invest about $3 million. Other potential investors include Markit, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Nasdaq.http://nypost.com/2015/12/14/banks-high-on-ex-jp-morgan-execs-new-bitcoin-business/

Core Developer Jeff Garzik on the Similarities Between Bitcoin and LinuxVolunteer Developers Become Paid DevelopersAlthough the early stages of development for Linux required assistance from altruistic coders who simply wanted to challenge the status-quo with a new idea, companies were eventually built to create monetary incentives for developers of the open-source operating system. Garzik described this as a possible next step for Bitcoin during his conversation with Bitcoin Knowledge Podcast Host Trace Mayer:“As I’ve seen in Linux, I think the [Bitcoin] ecosystem is going to take that next step and start to professionalize — make some new connections with enterprise grade Fortune 500 companies — and that’s really what’s going to take Bitcoin to the next level.”There are already a few organizations, such as Blockstream and MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative, which allow Bitcoin Core developers to work on the protocol on a full-time basis. Garzik himself was once a paid Core developer at BitPay.http://insidebitcoins.com/news/core-developer-jeff-garzik-on-the-similarities-between-bitcoin-and-linux/36223

NextBank Receives $1.4 Million in Private VC, Public Crowdfunding Halts!NextBank, the world’s first Bitcoin bank, has announced that they will be stopping their public crowdfunding campaign, due to a recent injection of $1.4 million from 2 venture capitalists for 4% of the company.About NextBank:Bitcoin bank NextBank will be operational in early 2016 and offer cryptocurrency users worldwide International Debit Cards and private bank accounts. NextBank accounts will be designated in both popular fiat currencies and digital money such as Bitcoin. NextBank will offer fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies and precious metals such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, GBP and USD on single multi- currency accounts.http://bitcoinist.net/nextbank-receives-1-4-million-private-vc-public-crowdfunding-halts/

Understanding the Underlying Value of Bitcoins16/03/2014 by Kyle TorpeyUnderlying Value of Bitcoin, publishers using the Bitcloud network will need to pay in cryptocurrency.Understanding the underlying value of bitcoins is rather difficult right now because there aren't many places where you have to use Bitcoin to make a payment. For example, one of the main reasons local fiat currencies have value is that the citizens of that country have to use the national currency to pay their taxes. When you have to use a certain currency to make a payment, it gives that currency value in the eyes of the people. Although there are already a few instances where you have to use Bitcoin to make certain kinds of payments, this aspect of the Bitcoin network is going to grow exponentially in the near future. Critics often state that bitcoins don't have real value as money because they aren't backed by a government or a physical commodity, but that point of view could be completely destroyed in the near futurehttps://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/understanding-underlying-value-bitcoins/